Translation guide
The English phrase 'be good' can express moral goodness, skill, quality, benefit, or behavior. This guide covers natural Japanese equivalents for each meaning, from general praise to specific contexts like food, behavior, and ability.
Describing a person's character as morally good, kind, or virtuous.
Literally 'good person', this is the most common way to say someone is a good person in terms of character.
彼は良い人だ。
He is a good person.
Means 'kind' or 'gentle', often used to describe someone's good nature.
彼女はとても優しい。
She is very kind.
A more formal or literary term for 'good-natured' or 'virtuous'.
彼は善良な市民だ。
He is a good citizen.
Saying someone is good at something, skilled, or proficient.
Describing something as being of good quality, useful, or beneficial.
The basic adjective for 'good'. Can describe quality, suitability, or benefit.
Saying food or drink tastes good.
Telling someone (often a child) to behave well or be good.
Saying something is good for one's health or condition.
良い (よい) is the standard form, while いい is a more casual, colloquial variant. In formal writing or speech, 良い is preferred. The negative form is always よくない, never いくない.
この映画は良くない。
This movie is not good.
Directly translating 'be good' as 良くあれ or 良くなれ is unnatural. Use context-appropriate expressions like いい子にして (behave) or 良い人だ (is a good person).
彼女は歌うのが上手だ。
She is good at singing.
Means 'one's strong point' or 'something one is good at'. Often used for skills.
数学が得意です。
I am good at math.
この本は良い。
This book is good.
More casual/common form of 良い. Used in everyday speech.
それ、いいね。
That's good, isn't it.
Means 'wonderful' or 'splendid', a stronger form of 'good'.
素晴らしいアイデアだ。
That's a great idea.
The standard word for 'delicious' or 'tastes good'.
このラーメンは美味しい。
This ramen is good.
Casual, often used by men. Can also mean 'skilled'.
この酒、うまいな。
This sake is good.
お利口にして待っててね。
Be a good boy/girl and wait, okay?
運動は健康に良い。
Exercise is good for your health.